Management from Makaha Restaurant located on Great Road received a fine of $320 from selectmen following an alleged violation of over-serving alcohol to a patron.

Police Chief Frank Widmayer, Detective Fred Rentschler, who serves as the court prosecutor, and three other police officers met with the Board of Selectmen Monday evening to discuss the alleged violation and make their recommendations.

Makaha manager Raymond Cheng and one of the bartenders on duty during the incident represented Makaha Restaurant. State Trooper Peter Morawick, who was present during the incident and off-duty at the time, also came before the board.

The board voted four to zero, with member Peter Berry absent, for Makaha Restaurant to update their service policy, re-train employees on the policy and provide proof of compliance to the police department; and to pay a fine of $320 to reimburse the Police Department for the officers in attendance at the hearing May 5.

Widmayer said that past infractions included an issue with underage serving in 2011, for which Makaha served a liquor license suspension. There was also an incident in 2006 in which Makaha Restaurant served a few weeks suspension, said Widmayer.

For the current case, the chief recommended that the serving policy get updated and the employees get service trained again. Widmayer also asked for reimbursement for the five officers who were being paid overtime to attend the hearing.

According to Rentschler, two police officers responded to a report of an incident at the bar of the Makaha Restaurant around 5 p.m. on March 29. Upon arrival, they observed a 6-foot-tall male weighing approximately 185 pounds with a cut to the forehead, outside the restaurant. The officers noticed a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and bloodshot eyes. When questioned, the subject stated that he had been in the bar watching the Bruins hockey game with friends and had consumed five beers in about four and a half hours’ time.

Rentschler said two off-duty state troopers were in the bar of their own volition at the time of the incident. They observed the male subject becoming aggressive and yelling at people in the bar. They intervened and told the subject to calm down, which he did. But the subject became agitated again. During the second instance, the troopers escorted the subject out of the bar and told management to call police.

According to an interdepartmental communication from Lt. Raymond P. Grey dated April 1, the subject continued to fight even after the state troopers identified themselves and the subject had to be taken to the ground where he suffered some abrasions.

The subject had his vehicle at the bar, but was taken into protective custody and brought back to the Acton Public Safety Facility said Rentschler. The subject took a breathalyzer test which indicated a blood alcohol content of .13, one and a half times over the legal limit of .08 according to Rentschler.

Page 2 of 3 - Morawick, one of the state troopers involved, said that he and his companions went to the restaurant for an early dinner. The bar was full and he observed a gentlemen at the corner of the bar hit his friend in the mouth. The bartender told him to calm down so the subject left to smoke a cigarette and then came back inside. The subject had a second argument and again the bartender told him to calm down and relax, at which time the subject left the establishment for 10 minutes.

Morawick said the subject tried to pick another fight with a friend. The situation very quickly escalated at which point the off-duty state troopers intervened and Morawick offered to give him a ride home. But the subject became tense and would not calm down. Morawick did not feel comfortable driving him home and the subject could not drive himself, so Morawick told management to call police and took the subject outside.

Cheng said he wasn’t at the restaurant the night of the incident, but the subject, who is a regular, ran a tab that night. The subject bought three Budweisers and bought one for a friend. Then a friend bought a beer for the subject who had consumed a total of four beers. Cheng said the incident occurred between two friends, both regulars of the restaurant bar. The two were joking around when they started arguing and one raised his voice. The bartender had already cut the subject off when his aggressive behavior escalated, according to Cheng.

Management tried to control the subject and convince him not to cause trouble. "Thankfully the state police handled it well," said Cheng.

"We did the right thing and let local police know about it," said Cheng.

Cheng submitted a letter written by the subject’s friend who was involved in the argument and altercation. Member Janet Adachi said the state trooper’s report was confirmed by the written statement. Adachi read parts of the letter aloud, in which the subject’s friend stated that they both "acted like young kids" even though they are 50 years old and 66 years old. They said they were disgusted and sorry for their behavior and were suspended from going to the Makaha.

Chairman Mike Gowing noted that if the subject had not gotten into a fight, he might have gotten behind the wheel because management wouldn’t have stopped him.

Member Katie Green said that no one intervened the first and second time the subject went out of the bar in an intoxicated state and that the subject could have gotten behind the wheel at either of those points.

"I wish actions had been taken a bit earlier," said Green who thought that management should review over-serving policies with their staff.

Page 3 of 3 - Widmayer was also concerned that the subject walked out of the bar and could have gotten into his car and left which was a "huge issue."